La Moneuse is named for A. J. Moneuse (b. 1768), a famous local bandit and gang leader, and ancestor of the brewers’ family. It is a classic "saison" beer by virtue of its strength and its earthy, aged quality. It has a hardy, semi-dry malt character, a fresh but not overpowering hoppiness, abundant yeasty, fruity flavors and a fairly strong, but pleasant and enticing mustiness.

Reviews by SeanChouffe:

Lively and effervescent. Upon opening the bottle, the head poured out profusely. The color is a rose gold, very clear and full of bubbles. Head is off white, rocky and full and the lacing is nice and clingy. Aroma is fresh, grassy and tart with hints of citrus fruits. Light to medium bodied and effervescent with a tart beginning, fruity middle and a dry wine like finish. Flavor sweetens and mouthfeel becomes more creamy as it warms. A good beer and an interesting representation of the style. (496 characters)

More User Reviews:

Boom!There went the cap as soon as I took the top off the cork it shot across the kitchen and scared the shiznit outta the cat.Poured into a chalice a hazy peach color with a huge blooming white head that left globs of lace behind as it ever so slowly came down.slight barnyard funk in the nose along with lemon rind and wet grain,wit a lingering phenolic cloveiness.Refreshing and somehwat light feeling somewhat spritzy,somewhat dry on the palate a little grainy with somelight phenolic yeasty flavors with a touch of clove,there is a touch of honey-like sweetness but it goes well with a lemony finish that lingers for awhile.A refresher a 2004 bottle it held up well and at *%alc it was a real summertime quaffer in my mind. (728 characters)

Appearance  Thick, cloudy orange body with the typical monster Belgian head that went down extremely slow and laced the glass.

Smell  Big fruit and stingy alcohol hits the nose. Theres also a lot of spice in there. Altogether, I can pick up peaches and banana with heavy clove, white pepper, and maybe some coriander.

Taste  This one is big on the spices. The sweet malt works with the spices from the aroma to provide a sharp, mature, somewhat musty flavor. I thought it was a little beyond the moderation that represents the style.

Mouthfeel  The carbonation was very deep and fell terrific on the tongue, but the overly-spicy flavors caused a lot of mouth puckering.

Drinkability  25 ounces of sipping ale will go a long way. Ill finish this one with a nice Middle-Eastern or Indian dish or something else that is similarly flavored. (862 characters)

I see that this is listed as a Belgian Strong Pale Ale. I believe that it would be better listed as a Saison. The new label even defines the beer as one. Semantics aside, this is a very good beer. Given time to warm, it becomes immensely fruity and slightly sour while remaining crisp, light, and fresh on the palate. The color is magnificent, golden orange. The head is large and fluffy, though short lived, and the particulate matter is a beautiful deep orange color. Those wonderful Saison aromas of a citrus medley and barnyard are present. The high ABV is completely covered by the fruity taste.

Note: This was a very young bottle, fresh off the boat I believe. In the past I had sampled a much older bottle of this that was considerably more complex and featured an almost guezelike mouthfeel. In other words, if you can find the old label, buy it. It won't let down. (the vintage was 1998)

Update: Since writing this review back on 03-27-2006 I have consumed dozens of bottles and it has grown to become one of my favorite beers. Though no experience has matched that of the 1998 vintage, the last few years have come close. My previous ratings were 4.5, 4, 3.5, 4.5, and 4.5. I am increasing those scores considerably today because I believe this to be one of the best beers available period. (1,302 characters)

Corked and caged 750 ml bottle. The cork explodes violently out of the bottle a few seconds after the cage is removed. Hazed golden body is topped by a white meringue that takes a few minutes to settle. Lavish lacing on the goblet.

large bottle, Caged and corked, shared at the Blind Tiger in NYC (Ya gotta love a place that has this type of high quality, hard to find brew in bottles!) Pours orangy, cloudy, with a large, puffy, lumpy head. Nose is all over the place, yeast, funk, must, sugar, horse blanket, yeaha this is the good stuff! Another complex, earthy amazing brew from Belgium. Sweet and minty, musty, yeasty and peppery. Love the style, love this beer, seek out and enjoy (454 characters)

Very charged bottle, a full two inches of foam on a careful pour. Sedimented (more and more so as the bottle empties) light orangey brown appearance. Laces in numerous small flecks. Sharp aroma, unripe pineapple and lots of green apple, a mixture of yeastiness and some hop spice. Mouthfeel is light, carbonation high and verging on excessive. Quite bitter and yeasty, verges on astringent with cutting tones of lemon rind and grass. Aftertaste echoes the same flavors, and its emphasized by the aroma as well. Dry and can be refreshing, probably a bit too much for my ordinary tastes, but a nice entry in an artisinal farmhouse type of way. (641 characters)

This beer pours a cloudy pale golden orange hue, with a ton of towering thinly foamy white head, which leaves a random spattering of chunky lace around the glass in its wake. It smells of floral citrus hops, barnyard yeast, and soft wheat grain. The taste is funky yeast, sweet wheat grain, and citrusy, earthy hops. No readily apparent booze. The carbonation is quiet enough, having blown its wad earlier, the body medium weight, airy, and commensurately smooth. It finishes off-dry, a refreshing creamy citrus character predominating.

After the increasingly standard foamy pour experience, all things fall in line. A little sweeter than expected, but still well balanced, and nice and tangy. (781 characters)

750mL. Unknown vintage. I picked up this bottle at least 3 years ago, then lost and forgot about it in the cellar. I remember thinking that it looked pretty old and beat up when I got it. And it doesn't look any newer or less battered now. I opened it today generally ready for disaster.

Luckily, it seems to have weathered its storms pretty well.

Pours to a deep orange-glinting brass, only lightly obscured with smog. The head is proud, thick and tall and white and lasting.
Candied pear aroma, usurped by funkiness that tends towards mildewed concrete and particle board. A light mace spicy nuance flickers along with a more robust sense of crystallized ginger.
Into the mouth it comes with a flash of coarse grain, quickly wiped away with the ensuing rock candy sugary sweetness. Sweetness lingers, but the acute sugary tones are replaced by fruity essences via pear, red apple, and green raisins. This lingering sweetness is conjoined by spice flourishes of nutmeg, anise, and cardamom, then sandblasted by peppercorns, sawdust, and gravel. The hops have eroded beyond recognition, but a decayed greenish sense of chlorophyll and algae is present near the close.
Up front, this is manically charged and gaseous. Here, it's frantic and abrasive, as it scours the mouth clean with CO2. After a few minutes it settles down to a thicker and more cohesive cottony feel. At this point it is gulpable, as no trace of the 8% ever shows.

The moral here is that this ages very well. In spite of what I can only presume to be a rough adolescence, this has held itself together wonderfully. It's become a thoroughly graceful and pleasant saison. I'd imagine that fresh (or at least fresher) bottles are real jewels. (1,724 characters)

A good drink. Orange colour with cloudiness. Orange and citrus taste. Yeast city, with the aroma and the look. Extreme head, and lace. Retaining head. Creaminess. A bit of saison, with honey and corriander and orange peel and bannana (is there wheat?)a good transition beer to the world of Belgian ale. (302 characters)

ECE/SAE amber with brighter highlights. A gargantuan rocky head collapses into a valley of dense stiff peaks. Merengue-like sticky lacing is among the thickest I've seen. Heavy carbonation creates an upthrust through the liquid, stirring the yeast up in a manner resembling an exploding building...a slow motion gusher climbs out of the bottle over several minutes if you leave it unattended.

Sweet and soft palate entry, again suggestive of fruit; this gives way rapidly to a light earthy spice and mild bitterness from hops; mud and hay notes synergize with the delicately tart musty yeast elements suggesting goat milk and proseco. Incomparably smooth yet pure and well balanced. Finish is just barely dry.

Hugely effervescent without being overcarbonated; lush, pillowy, and almost airy body. Slightly warming.

Estery, spicy, and lightly funky saison with a touch of sweetness. Suggestive of terroir as only the best examples are, this is a wonderful Belgian saison. (1,196 characters)